Neither running back Maurice Jones-Drew nor receiver Mike Sims-Walker practiced on Wednesday and Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said he hopes they didn't regress to the point where they won't be able to play this weekend against the Washington Redskins.

Jones-Drew and Sims-Walker have both been playing through injuries this season and while Sims-Walker has missed two games with a high right ankle sprain, Jones-Drew hasn't missed any games.

Last week the Jaguars opted to keep Jones-Drew out of Wednesday and Thursday's practices so he could heal from a knee injury that flared up after the Jaguars played the Raiders two weeks ago. Jones-Drew played but had one of his lowest outputs of the year. I asked him if at this point he gains more from getting treatment than actually being on the practice field.

"We're going to find out," he said. "It didn't look too good last week so hopefully we can get going here in the next couple days so we can get out there and run around, see how it feels."

A big thing for Del Rio is if a guy plays hurt, how effective is he? Sims-Walker played hurt against the New York Giants, caught four passes and dropped two or three, depending on who you ask. Sims-Walker sat out the next week's game to let his ankle heal.

"As it is this time of year, you're dealing with guys, trying to make that determination as you go through the week," Del Rio said. "The longer I've been doing this as a head coach, I really am very reluctant to make true game-time decisions. There are not a lot of those that go well. Player tries to talk his way to doing something then he's not really able to play that well. Typically if you don't practice, don't get all that work, you're not your normal self out there."

Del Rio was asked if perhaps a guy like Jones-Drew is someone who gets the benefit of the doubt in such situations.

"Some guys have earned that because you've seen them go through that and play well," Del Rio said. "If you have a history with a guy it makes it a little easier to understand what they're capable of. So you build that relationship with guys certainly."

Del Rio was asked if there was any chance Jones-Drew wouldn't play Sunday.

"I hope not," he said. "We're just, the way I look at it, we're always optimistic. We get the information to go through the week. get the feedback from the player, from the trainer, from the doctors and all that, then make a determination."

Are these the same fans who just loved the Jags at 8-5? Except for a few lapses, such as 4th and 1 at their own 39, the Jags played pretty well. How would these fans feel if they were Giants fans after they blew a 31-10 lead in the 4th quarter with less than 8 minutes to play allowing a 65-yd punt return as time expired?